My mom adopted a new 3 year old male chow, lucky. At first when you see him or talk to him, he will growl. We fed him treats and them he was fine. But since he is a new chow, I don’t want to let me guard down and his harm someone. How do I make him more friendly? Or even working with him, to make him more comfortable with me or my mom?

I would suggest patience first of all. It takes time to build trust. Build this with love and kindness and positive experiences. As far as socializing him this is important but he is older with his own 3 years of life experiences so he may never be a social butterfly or he may totally be one with time. I always tell visitors to let my two come to them and sniff and satisfy their curiosity. I don't force anyone on them. No coming at their heads with hands when first greeting. Let him check them out or ignore them if that is his choice. Many chows are aloof and not interested in interacting with others. If he is comfortable you can encourage socializing with treats handed out by your visitors. But if he wants to go lay in another room or at your feet when guests come that is fine. One of mine is very social and one could care less about attention/affection from others. When out for walks or at the park, Petsmart, wherever you need to be very vigilant because people are rude and will have hands on his head before you know it. Most chows are not fond of that direct to the head approach and some don't want people in public petting or touching them. You can go slowly and try to encourage it using treats if it is important to you. Right now your focus is on you and your moms relationship. Build that and then worry about the rest. Give him time and space but also love and encouragement. Let him sleep in your room if he likes, go for walks, see if he is interested in any kind of toys. Talk to him, don't force him into situations. I'm not sure what you know of his background but maybe he's had a rough start and now he is in another strange place with strange people.

Thank you, very helpful. Yes at the moment it is just me and my mom trying to socialize with him. I’m just worried because my dad is on vacation, how Lucky will react. Since I find most dogs don’t really like men as much or are scared of him. He was an outdoor dog before hand, so I’m not sure if the owners even pet them. They just purchased to breed and I think they were a little scared of the male.